Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to water-tow sports in which a person is towed behind a watercraft, such as water skiing, wakeboarding, and the like, and more particularly to apparatus that a person uses to be towed by a watercraft.
Description of the Related Art
In various watersports in which a person is towed behind a watercraft, such as water skiing, wakeboarding, knee boarding, air chair riding, float tube (e.g., inner tubes) riding, and the like (collectively referred to herein as “water-tow sports”), the person must typically hold onto a special handle (e.g., a “water ski handle”). The handle, referred to herein as a “water-tow sport handle,” is typically connected to one end of a rope having another end connected to the rear of a watercraft. A typical watercraft is a small motor boat.
A typical water-tow sport handle 10 is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. With reference to FIG. 1, the handle comprises a rigid tubular triangle 16 including a handle segment 12 adapted to be gripped by a user. The handle segment 12 has a diameter appropriate for being gripped by a person's hands. The handle 10 is connected or configured to be connected to a rope. In use, the rope is secured to the rear of a watercraft so that a person holding the handle 10 can be pulled along behind the watercraft. FIG. 2 shows a water skier using the handle 10.
The use of a conventional water-tow sport handle requires a constant grip on the handle segment 12, which is very tiring. During those times when the user is not engaged in the immediate act of, e.g., water skiing or wakeboarding, such as after the completion of a water ski slalom course or a pass on a wakeboard, the user often desires to rest his or her hands and upper body as the watercraft continues to move. In order to rest their hands or upper body, users sometimes hook their arms through the handle 10 or extend the handle 10 between their legs. These options are dangerous because it is not as easy to release the handle 10 in the case of an emergency. For example, if the user falls while skiing with the handle 10 hooked through the user's arm, the arm can become injured as the person gets dragged along the surface of the water. Also, these methods of resting the user's hands still involve the use of upper body muscles, especially when resisting centrifugal forces while the watercraft is turning.
Some watercrafts have a rope release mechanism that a person in the watercraft can activate in an emergency situation, such as when the user falls while being towed. One limitation to this type of mechanism is that its effectiveness depends upon the person in the watercraft, who must be paying attention and must release the rope in a timely manner to avoid injuring the user.